It’s no secret the Obama Regime has been waging war immigration law enforcement. But in recent weeks, this war is becoming less of a metaphor and more of a brutal reality for the men and women of the Border Patrol. And as in any war, the casualties are piling up.

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu and the National Border Patrol Council, in a joint press conference, accused the Administration of “handcuffing” the Border Patrol, forcing agents not to do their jobs [Obama Admin Handcuffed Border Patrol, Says Babeu, by Bob Price, Breitbart, March 8, 2016]. Just as police have been told to stand down in response to the Black Lives Matter movement, Border Patrol agents are being told to surrender to surging illegal immigration.

However, the malevolence of the Obama Administration goes beyond simply enabling illegal immigration. It is actively endangering its own officers. Recent reports indicate attacks on Border Patrol Agents and Customs and Border Protection Officials are increasing, even as their own uses of force have declined:

Customs and Border Patrol officers and agents employed “use of force” tactics fewer times in FY 2015 than the year before even though assaults against officers increased slightly, new government data reveal.

According to a Customs and Border Protection report released Tuesday, CBP officers and agents used force 26 percent less over the past year compared to FY 2014 but experienced a nearly 5 percent increase in the number of assaults on officers.

In raw data terms, agents used force 1,037 times in FY 2014 and 768 times in FY 2015. Officers’ firearm usage remained relatively constant, firing 29 times in FY 2014 compared to 28 times in FY 2015. “Less Lethal” uses of force was the area that experienced the greatest decline from 1008 in FY 2014 to 740 instances in FY 2015.

While the use of force declined the number of assaults on officers increased slightly, bucking a three year trend that saw such altercations declining since FY 2011 when there were 675 assaults. FY 2015 was the first year since FY 2011 to experience an uptick in assaults, up to 390 from FY 2014’s 373 assaults.

Indeed, Customs and Border Patrol Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske declared he is pleased with this development. As quoted in the same article:

“The data, which reflect the application of use of force by U.S. Border Patrol agents, CBP officers, and air interdiction agents, show a 26 percent reduction in the number of use of force incidents. This reduction is especially significant considering that assaults against agents and officers have essentially remained steady,” Kerlikowske said in a statement.

But it’s not just Kerlikowske. Even as Border Patrol agents are undermined and attacked, the Main Stream Media is now piling on with caterwauling about how agents should no longer be allowed to defend themselves from invaders who attack them with rocks:

In a report completed this week, a former Baltimore police commissioner and Justice Department official found a Border Patrol policy allowing agents to shoot their firearms based on the threat of a thrown object “highly suspect.”

“Virtually all thrown objects fail to meet the ‘Imminent Peril’ standard to justify use of deadly force, and in such circumstances, officers are trained to take evasive or defensive action, not escalate the encounter with gunfire,” Thomas Frazier wrote in his report, a copy of which was shared with Reveal. “In my experience I have never heard of, and do not know of, any law enforcement agency that considers a thrown projectile as per se ‘Deadly Force.’”

Only a few days ago, one of “Homeland Security’s highest priority fugitives” was finally detained after allegedly assaulting a Border Patrol agent with a rock described as the size of a “softball.” Martel Valencia-Cortez was seen smuggling 14 illegals into the Untied States when he was confronted by an agent. The agent fired his weapon after being struck by the rock, but Valencia-Cortez was not hit.

What is the suspect’s background?

Valencia-Cortez has been involved in numerous human smuggling incidents dating to 1997, at times carrying a gun and eluding arrest by resorting to violence and dangerous acts, including wrong-way driving on freeways, according to federal authorities.

He was released from federal custody last September following a three- year prison sentence for human smuggling.

At least some Border Patrol agents seem to understand their own government is gunning for them. Shawn Moran, a vice president of the Border Patrol union, reacted harshly to claims his agents should receive more scrutiny when it comes to defending themselves:

“Are agents supposed to hesitate and not defend themselves because someone set up an arbitrary threshold above which someone will be scrutinized?” Moran said in a telephone interview from San Diego.

“All this is going to do is further demoralize agents and create a disincentive to agents to go out there and do their job,” he said.

The blogger Federale (Emailhim)is a 4th generation Californian and a veteran of federal law enforcement, including service in the legacy Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Department of Homeland Security, and other federal law enforcement agencies.

Federale's opinions do not represent those of the Department of Homeland Security or the federal government, and are an exercise of rights protected by the 1st Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.